FloodCraft - Flood Mitigation Strategy Game

About

Welcome to FloodCraft, an innovative and engaging educational game designed to teach K-12 students about essential flood mitigation strategies in an interactive and enjoyable manner. Built on the popular Minecraft platform, this game provides a unique opportunity for players to explore and understand various flood preparedness techniques, empowering them with knowledge that can make a difference in their real-world communities.

The game is structured into different sections, each dedicated to a specific flood mitigation strategy. From implementing wet floodproofing to deploying sandbags, constructing flood walls, and elevating structures, players will embark on a learning adventure that demonstrates how these methods can enhance community resilience to flooding.

How to Play

If you would like to play the game, please follow the setup instructions below.

How to Install

Prerequisites:

• Java Development Kit (JDK) 8
• Minecraft Java Edition
• Minecraft Forge 1.16.5

You can find tutorials on YouTube for installing these prerequisites on your computer. Below are some links, but feel free to search for other tutorials specific to your operating system:

• Minecraft Java Installation on MacOS
• Minecraft Java Installation on Other Systems

Installation of CustomNPCs

1. Download the CustomNPCs jar file from CurseForge.
2. Locate the minecraft folder on your computer, then navigate to the mods folder inside it.
3. Place the downloaded jar file into the mods folder.

Installation of Floodmod

1. Download the Floodmod jar file from this repository.
2. Place the jar file into the same mods folder where you installed CustomNPCs.

Download the World Folder

1. Download the world folder from this repository.
2. Place it inside the saves folder, which is located in your minecraft directory.
3. When you open the game, you will see "Flood World" as a world option. Select that world and start playing!

Tasks

There are four tasks that players must complete to finish the game, each related to a different mitigation strategy:

1. Floodwalls: Players are required to place floodwall blocks around a river to prevent flooding from rising water. After placing the blocks, initiate flooding by pressing a button to test your setup. If there are no leaks, you will proceed to the next task.

2. Sandbagging: Place sandbag blocks around a house and follow the same process to check your setup and advance.

3. Wet Floodproofing: Learn about wet floodproofing by referring to in-game images, NPC guidance, and ChatGPT assistance via the chat section.

4. Elevation: Elevate the structure using provided blocks within a given timeframe. Your score will be updated upon completion of each task.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback! Please report any issues or suggestions by filing an issue on our GitHub page.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgements

FloodCraft was developed by the University of Iowa Hydroinformatics Lab (UIHI Lab). Visit us at hydroinformatics.uiowa.edu.

References

Emiroglu, E., Grant, C. A., Sermet, Y., & Demir, I. (2024). Floodcraft: Game-based Interactive Learning Environment using Minecraft for Flood Mitigation and Preparedness for K-12 Education. EarthArxiv, 7815. https://doi.org/10.31223/X52Q55